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Featured
America Has Eye Trouble
The ICE shooting in Minneapolis, like the Jan. 6 insurrection, brings into sharp relief two different visions in America. Many of us now filter what we see through a pair of political eyeglasses, blurring facts with ideology.
Renee Good Was a Martyr for Her Faith, Like MLK, Say Presbyterians
The Presbyterian Office of Public Witness, part of the Presbyterian Church (USA), says Good is part of ‘a sacred lineage of faithful witnesses who have risked and lost their lives in defense of human dignity.’
Faith Leaders Are Denied Access to Immigration Detainees in Minnesota
The question of offering pastoral care to immigrant detainees has become a theological and legal flashpoint since President Donald Trump launched his mass deportation effort last year.
Church
Jimmy Carter’s D.C. Church Honors Him With Special Service
First Baptist Church of the City of Washington, D.C., Carter’s primary place of worship throughout his presidency, hosted an evening service that celebrated his life and played a recording from his final Sunday School lesson there.
Sunday School Class With Jimmy Carter: What It Was Like
No matter how many times one crammed into the modest sanctuary at Maranatha Baptist Church, there was always some wisdom to be gleaned from the measured, Bible-inspired words of Jimmy Carter.
Churches Consider What Sanctuary Might Look Like in Trump’s Second Term
The news that Trump may rescind a policy discouraging immigration officials from arresting people at churches is making some church leaders reconsider sanctuary.
Nation
She Came to Her ICE Check-In Backed by an Episcopal Bishop and 500 Supporters
As immigrants increasingly fear detention at ICE check-ins, many faith groups have doubled down on accompaniment strategies to support them at those appointments.
How Faith-Based Support Is Helping Scouting America Stabilize
Major sponsors include the United Methodist Church, the Episcopal Church, and various Lutheran and Presbyterian denominations. Nearly 250 units, serving more than 6,500 scouts, are sponsored by Muslim, Jewish, and Buddhist organizations.
Appeals Court: Trump Can Halt Refugee Admissions but Must Serve Those Already Here
The decision received a mixed reaction from the coalition of plaintiffs that includes three faith-based refugee resettlement agencies.
World
Churches, Temples, and Monasteries Regularly Hit by Airstrikes in Myanmar, Activists Say
Churches are often suspected of sympathy with opposition groups, even though they are more commonly used as places of refuge for civilians seeking to shelter from fighting.
Indigenous Faithful and Christians Work With Environmentalists to Conserve India’s Sacred Forests
Many Christian converts have lost their spiritual connection to the forests and lore. Meghalaya is 75% Christian in a country that is almost 80% Hindu.
Africa’s Six Anglican Women Bishops Meet and Issue Call to Combat Africa’s ‘Triple Threat’
The weeklong gathering outside Kenya's capital focused on gender-based violence, teenage pregnancy, and HIV/AIDS, saying the Anglican churches in Africa have been silent on these issues affecting many African women.
Editorials
House of Prayer
The forced resignation of Patrick Conroy as chaplain for the U.S. House of Representatives quickly sparked questions and concerns about the intermingling of religion and politics. Some lawmakers believe Speaker Paul Ryan pushed
Hypocrisy of Strikes on Syria
Watching the news Saturday night as missiles from the United States, United Kingdom and France struck Syria, I found myself pondering questions about the attack — and about how Christians should react
Letters to a Myanmar Jail
On Christmas Eve of 2016, the military of Myanmar detained two Baptist pastors. We’ve
Word&Way Voices
The Nones Need Us
Contributing writer Sarah Blackwell has watched a generation of young people she worked with over the last two decades walk away from the church and organized religion — and she's not alone. So, what did we do wrong?
We Must Remember the Palestinian Nakba
May 15, 1948 — 75 years ago — a human rights travesty began. Palestinians and those of us who are in solidarity with their liberation and human rights movement commemorate what is referred to as the Nakba, which means “catastrophe” in Arabic.
Multiple Revenue Streams and the Future of the Church
Contributing writer Greg Mamula offers the final entry in a six-part series on the future of the church. In this article, he focuses on the importance of developing multiple revenue streams.
E-Newsletter
Former President Jimmy Carter Dies at 100
This issue of A Public Witness reflects on the moral exemplar Jimmy Carter offered not only after his presidency but also during his underappreciated time in the Oval Office.
2024 in Review
In this review of 2024, we count down our most popular pieces and reflect on some other highlights from the year.
‘Perverted Justice’
Clergy blast Missouri Gov. Mike Parson for freeing the police officer who was convicted of killing 26-year-old Cameron Lamb.
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The State of the Senate, from SC to ME to TX to KS
This episode of Dangerous Dogma features a conversation between Word&Way Editor Brian Kaylor, Lutheran minister and journalist Angela Denker, and Disciples pastor and author Beau Underwood. The conversation includes discussion about the death of Sen. Lindsey Graham as well as issues of faith and morality in Senate races in Maine, Texas, and Kansas. You can… -
Southern Baptists, the Pentagon, & UFC
This episode of Dangerous Dogma features a conversation between Word&Way Editor Brian Kaylor, Lutheran minister and journalist Angela Denker, and Disciples pastor and author Beau Underwood. The conversation includes discussion about the Southern Baptist Convention's push against women in ministry, the Pentagon changing how it codes the faith of military members, and the latest in… -
Southern Baptists, Women in Ministry, & a Billboard
In this episode, Word&Way President Brian Kaylor talks with Meredith Stone, executive director of Baptist Women in Ministry. The conversation includes discussion of efforts in the Southern Baptist Convention to further target women serving in churches and how BWIM is advocating for women (including with a billboard to greet SBC messengers next week in Orlando,… -
Divergent Visions for Rededicating the Nation
This episode of Dangerous Dogma features a conversation between Word&Way Editor Brian Kaylor, Lutheran minister and journalist Angela Denker, and Disciples pastor and author Beau Underwood. The conversation includes discussion about Rededicate 250, gerrymandering, Adam Hamilton's Senate campaign in Kansas, and the MAHA movement. You can watch a video version of the conversation here. Here are a few pieces… -
The Christian Past That Wasn't
In this episode, Word&Way President Brian Kaylor talks with Warren Throckmorton, a retired professor who has spent years debunking false claims by Christian Nationalist pseudo-historian David Barton. Throckmorton is the author of the new book, The Christian Past that Wasn't: Debunking the Christian Nationalist Myths that Hijack History. You can watch a video version of… -
Trump vs. Leo
This episode of Dangerous Dogma features a conversation between Word&Way Editor Brian Kaylor, Lutheran minister and journalist Angela Denker, and Disciples pastor and author Beau Underwood. The conversation includes discussion about President Donald Trump's attacks on Pope Leo XIV, Leo's witness against the Iran war, Trump's AI image of himself as Jesus, and the electoral… -
Fight Like Jesus with Jason Porterfield (Reissue)
In this episode, Word&Way President Brian Kaylor talks with Jason Porterfield about his book Fight Like Jesus: How Jesus Waged Peace. This episode originally aired in 2023, except for a new introduction noting a violent prayer by Pete Hegseth during a recent Pentagon worship service and Palm Sunday comments by Pope Leo XIV. Note: Don't forget… -
Pete Hegseth's Crusader Bible (A Trick of State)
In this episode, Word&Way President Brian Kaylor considers Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth's use of the English Standard Version of the Bible, patriarchy in the faith communities Hegseth has been a part of, and his Christian Nationalism. It also reveals that Hegseth's ESV Bible includes two Crusader symbols stamped onto the cover (and that match… -
An Unholy War
This episode of Dangerous Dogma features a conversation between Word&Way Editor Brian Kaylor, Lutheran minister and journalist Angela Denker, and Disciples pastor and author Beau Underwood. The conversation includes discussion about the Iran war, Christian opposition to the war, and viral claims of military leaders claiming this will bring "Armageddon." It also includes consideration of… -
Rewriting the Ten Commandments (A Trick of State)
In this episode, Word&Way President Brian Kaylor looks at legislation across the country that purports to want the Ten Commandments in public school classrooms. But the version mandated by lawmakers cannot be found in any Bible. Kaylor unpacks where the edited language came from, why such legislation is an attack on religious liberty, and the…
Books
Review & Giveaway: Freeing Jesus
A review of Freeing Jesus: Rediscovering Jesus as Friend, Teacher, Savior, Lord, Way, and Presence by Diana Butler Bass. And information on how to win an autographed copy of it.
Review: Theology and the Star Wars Universe
Robert D. Cornwall reviews "Theology and the Star Wars Universe" edited by Benjamin D. Espinoza. This book is part of a larger series of academic studies that explore the relationship between theology/religion and pop culture. The idea here is to
Review: Pathways to Hindu-Christian Dialogue
Robert D. Cornwall reviews "Pathways to Hindu-Christian Dialogue" by Anantanand Rambachan. This book provides an accessible foundation for Hindu-Christian relations that are often underdeveloped. Rambachan outlines barriers to relationships and understanding that both communities present to the other which can
Review: Encountering Mystery
Robert D. Cornwall reviews "Encountering Mystery: Religious Experience in a Secular Age" by Dale C. Allison Jr. This book seeks to help those who have had spiritual experiences that are not easily explained by sorting these occurances out instead of